Tunstall, Ronald George (Ron)   (1950 - 2005)

Ron Tunstall was born at Wollongong and grew up in the Illawarra district of New South Wales where he developed a keen interest in natural history.

He studied at university to become a teacher and worked in the Illawarra until he retired, except for a short period in Sydney and about two years in Papua New Guinea.

On retirement he moved to Wauchope in the Hastings area of the mid north coast of New South Wales.

Ron was a dedicated naturalist who was blessed with a discerning eye. Although he was interested in a range of plants and animal groups, native orchids were his primary focus and he travelled far and wide over Australia to see them in their natural habitat.

Ron was also a keen photographer and he amassed a prodigious collection of slides, taken not only in the wild but also in private collections and at orchid society meetings.

Detailed consideration of the manuscripts of early botanists was often followed by trips to the area looking at the range of species growing there and making decisions about which taxa were the best fit.

He discovered numerous new orchid species during his travels and he was instrumental in making many collections for the herbarium at Canberra, some of which have been used as types.

Ron Tunstall died suddenly in the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle on the 29th October 2005.

Source: Extracted from: Jones, D. et al, obituary, https://www.australianorchidfoundation.org.au/ronald-tunstall/
Portrait Photo: Extracted from: https://www.australianorchidfoundation.org.au/ronald-george-tunstall/.

Collecting localities for 'Tunstall, R.G.' from AVH (2022)

Data from 812 specimens